Harry Potter and the Homunculi
by adestiny
Summary: HPxFMA Crossover. The new year is starting at Hogwarts, but things just aren't the same, especially with the strange new DADA teacher and transfer students. Harry is suspicious: could she be a Death Eater, or something worse?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: AU It's the seventh year at Hogwarts, and things just aren't the same without Dumbledore. McGonagall has taken over as Headmistress with Flitwick as Deputy Headmaster. As usual, a new DADA teacher is needed, and there's only one person up for the job. But Harry is suspicious of this new teacher being a spy almost instantly, though no one else seems concerned. Could she be a Death Eater, or something else entirely, and is she a friend or foe?

Pairings: Ron x Hermione (finally) and hints at Harry x Ginny

I'm going to try and speed through this chapter, with Diagon Alley and whatnot, as things don't get really good 'til they get to Hogwarts.

Please leave a nice review. Now Read!

_Chapter One: A Wedding and a Bat_

"Bill Weasley, do you take Ms. Fleur Delacour as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do!" Bill said, a large grin spreading across his scarred face.

"And do you, Fleur Delacour, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Of course I do!" Fleur replied.

"Then by the powers vested in me I do hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Everyone rose from their seats and clapped their hands wildly as the two kissed and Bill swept Fleur into his arms, carrying her bridal-style away from the alter and toward the picnic tables that were set up not far away.

Harry smiled. Despite everything that had happened, despite everything that would happen, that was happening at that moment, here was just a moment of peace. Such moments were rare and becoming rarer by the week as Voldemort's clutches spread.

Harry sat down at a table with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Charlie. Everyone was talking and laughing and having a good time. The Weasleys didn't have the money for a big wedding, so the lunch consisted of simple sandwiches, fruit, a few pastries, and punch, but it was a good lunch nonetheless.

"Oh, look, they're about to cut the cake!" Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm and pointing. "I love this part."

"Been to many weddings?" Charlie asked.

"Tons. I have lots of cousins," Hermione nodded vigorously. "I love everything about weddings, especially the cake cutting. Don't you think so, Ron?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Ron's ears turned bright pink as he realized that he'd been staring at Hermione, and he looked back at the table where the newlyweds were cutting the cake. Ginny giggled and Harry's smile widened.

Soon, after everyone had a slice of cake, more punch, and after the couple's first dance, everyone deserted the hill where the wedding had taken place and headed back to the Burrow.

"Shame none of Fleur's relatives could make it," George sighed.

"Terribly tragic, that," Fred agreed.

It was a shame that none of Fleur's relatives had come to her own wedding, but they all had to take care of their own matters, what with Death Eaters running amok since Dumbledore's death. There was no safe haven, but the majority still felt safer in large cities, and Harry was still attached to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The Burrow was as cramped as ever, especially with the entire Weasley clan, Harry, and Hermione crammed inside. Yet despite the lack of space, the Burrow was still what Harry had and would always considered his home, if not Hogwarts.

Hogwarts would be starting again soon, he realized. He'd be going back to the wondrous castle for one last year, and then he'd search for Voldemort, Snape, the Horcruxes, and Malfoy. He knew what he'd do when he found Voldemort and Snape; he'd kill them straight away. He'd destroy the Horcruxes, too.

But Malfoy was a slightly different story. As much as Harry hated him, he didn't think he'd be able to bring himself to end Malfoy's life. Azkaban, maybe, would be good enough, or the wizard version of Juvenile Hall. Malfoy certainly didn't deserve to walk around free, but death might be too much.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Ginny asked with concern. "You're being awfully quiet."

"Oh," Harry replied, snapping out of his thoughts. "Sorry, I was-"

"Thinking about Voldemort?" Ginny finished. She was still careful around Voldemort's name, but she was starting to get better at saying it more and more casually.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. Ginny didn't need to know about his indecisiveness about Malfoy, he decided. She was all too passionate about the subject, and had made it clear earlier in the summer that if she came across a Death Eater- any Death Eater- she would kill it, or at the very least immobilize it and let someone else kill it.

"You worry too much," Ginny said, though he knew she didn't mean the words.

Everyone was practically worried out of their minds, especially him and the Weasleys. The Dursleys no longer cared about him; he was out of their house for good- he'd gone back to retrieve his things earlier that summer, so they would most likely never see each other again.

That night, Harry lied awake. For the strangest reason, he found himself thinking about the Hogwarts staff. Professor McGonagall had, as he'd read in the _Daily Prophet_, been chosen to become the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Harry couldn't say that he disliked the choice at all. He, just as everyone else, knew that no one could ever come close to Dumbledore. But McGonagall was quite possibly the closest to Dumbledore, and Harry felt reassured knowing that someone he knew was in charge of the school.

But there were staff complications, mostly being the lack thereof. No one wanted to take a job at the school, not after the siege, not without Dumbledore. So McGonagall would still be teaching Transfiguration, but Hagrid would be taking the position of Head of Gryffindor.

No one, not even Rita Skeeter, knew who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be, or if anyone had even applied for the job. If it hadn't been repellent enough before, now it was doubly so. Snape had permanently scarred the post, made it the most unpopular subject, and there was still the 'curse' to consider.

Sighing, tired with all of these complex thoughts, Harry mumbled, "G'night," to Ron and Charlie and tried to fall asleep, finally managing to do so at around one o'clock in the morning.

The next morning, Harry awoke to find that Hedwig and Pig had come with letters from Hogwarts. They were supply lists, of course:

_A Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven _by Miranda Goshawk

_Perfecting your Potions, _by Sureves Epans

_A Guide to the Stars: Advanced Astronomy_, by Nori Fooh

_Battling Brutes: How to Fight Without Magic, _by Fezzick Eldorado

Standard supplies include:

One Wand

A set of Robes

One Cauldron

One set of Scales

Ink and Quills

Students may choose to bring _one_ of the following:

Cat

Rat

Owl

Bat

Students are expected to dress in school robes every day. All students will be taking advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, and may wish to bring dragon-hide gloves or gloves of hard material.

Looking forward to your arrival,

Professor Minerva McGonagall,

Headmistress

"Bats? That's new," Ron said, looking. "Wonder who's going to bring one of those. Maybe Luna, she's always been a bit batty herself."

"Be nice! Luna fought beside us at the Ministry, don't forget," Hermione scolded.

"What do you think we need extra-strength gloves for, though?" Harry asked. "You'd think something like that would be for Care of Magical Creatures, not Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Well, all else aside, at least we know there will be a Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Ginny pointed out.

Everyone was discussing the classes over breakfast… or at least, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were. Fred and George were stuffing their faces full of toast, whilst Mrs. Weasley was busy cleaning and cooking in the kitchen at the same time. Charlie was deep into the sports section of the _Daily Prophet_ while Mr. Weasley scanned the rest of the newspaper for news of any information about Voldemort's whereabouts. Bill and Fleur had already left on their honeymoon.

"We'll be going to Diagon Alley today, right, Mum?" Ron asked.

"What's that? Oh, yes, yes… got to get your things for school," Mrs. Weasley nodded. "The Ministry is loaning us a company car."

Harry remembered the times in the past when they had been loaned company cars, and he knew that they were always roomier than they appeared. He almost wondered if they would need to be, though: Charlie, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley were all going to be staying at the Burrow, so only Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley would be going.

It seemed that only the extra trunk space would actually be needed, as a regular car could fit five people easily.

"I think I might get a bat," Ginny said suddenly.

"Huh?" Fred gaped at her.

"I said that I think I might get a bat," Ginny replied. "They're cute, and furry; I like bats. They're useful, too- bats can carry mail and eat all of the bugs around the school. And I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, Hermione has Crookshanks, Ron has Pig… so I was thinking maybe I could get a bat."

Everyone turned their gaze to Mrs. Weasley.

"I don't see why not," she finally responded. "But we don't really have the money-"

"That's okay, I've been saving," Ginny replied. "I think I have enough money for an owl, so I should have no problem getting a bat."

And so, hours later, Ginny walked triumphantly out of the store with a small, black bat with silver wings in a cage. It was cute, too- it looked like a hamster with a shorter nose, bigger, slightly pointier ears, a tail, and wings. It seemed pretty happy with Ginny, too, and squeaked proudly whenever she said its name, 'Shadow'.

Soon, everyone had their school things and were safely back at the Burrow. Everyone watched with some worry as Ginny let Shadow out of his cage. He flew out, circled the room a few times, exploring it with his echo vision before latching onto the crotchet work of Ginny's sweater with his claws and swinging upside down.

For the rest of the day, Ginny strolled around the house with Shadow hanging on her arm, or resting on her shoulder, or sometimes she even carried him around in her hands.

"Isn't he cute?" she'd ask anyone who walked by, "Isn't he so smart?"

And no one could help but answer, "Yes, Ginny, he's cute. Yes, Ginny, he's smart. Yes Ginny, we were wrong to accuse bats of being creepy and ugly and wild."

Finally Harry just had to silence her with a kiss, at which point Shadow hovered near his face and gave him a lick on the cheek to express the fact that if Harry made Ginny happy, he would make Harry happy, mostly by not bothering him.

Another week or so went on this way, and soon it was time to leave for Hogwarts. It was definitely going to be an odd year, they all knew, with at least half the students gone and Death Eaters milling about. But they had no idea what was in store for them at the castle.

"Well, here's a good thing about this year," Ron said as they took their regular empty car on the train, "Malfoy and Snape are going to be gone." The sweets trolley found its way to their cart and Ron added, "Reason to celebrate?"

"Definitely," Harry nodded, catching his drift. He, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna were swamped with Pumpkin Pastries, Chocolate Frogs, and Burty Blott's Every Flavor Bean. Neville, unfortunately, wasn't going to be attending Hogwarts that year.

Most of the ride passed in silence, with the exception of satisfied chewing and the occasional squeak of Shade, hoot of Hedwig and Pig, and mew of Crookshanks.

The compartment door slid open suddenly, and four people stepped through. One was a woman with long, black hair and red eyes, who looked to be in her mid or late twenties. Ron's jaw dropped when he saw her- she was drop-dead _gorgeous_, even more than a veela. The other three were boys; one was tall and slim, with long, greenish hair and violet eyes who looked to be in his later teens. The other two were twins, maybe eight or nine, with big, denim-blue eyes and long, black hair. Their left eyes were covered by their bangs. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna resisted the urge to '_aww' _at the sight of them, because they were simply _adorable_.

None of them wore school robes, though everyone else had changed.

The teen wore a black, sleeveless, slightly turtle-necked half-shirt with a pair of black, fingerless gloves, a black skort, and black, toe-less, ankle-height leggings, along with a headband. He had a tattoo on his upper-left thigh of a serpent eating its tail.

The twins wore shorts and half-shirts, along with finger-less gloves and toe-less, angle-height leggings. One of them, like the teen, wore all black, but the other wore all white.

The woman wore a black half-shirt that looked like it was made of leather, or something thicker. She also wore elbow-length, black gloves and knee-high, black boots. She wore a skort that was short in the front but long in the back as well, and the front portion of it had a pouch. On her ears were a few piercings, most of them occupied by silver rings or red posts, but she had on a pair of red, triangular earrings.

"Excuse me," the woman said, "But would any of you know when we will be arriving at Hogwarts?"

"Soon," Ginny answered. "Who are you guys?"

"I am Murder, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," the woman replied. "These are my sons, Envy, Wrath, and Hope."

"It's… nice to meet you," Hermione said awkwardly. "I'm Hermione Granger, that's Ginny Weasley, there's Luna Lovegood, and these two are Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter, you said?" Envy asked. His voice was very feminine for a guy. "We've heard of a Harry Potter. We were warned that you can be trouble."

"Warned by who?" Harry asked.

"That's for us to know and for you to get yourself into trouble trying to find out," Envy replied smartly.

"Be nice, Envy," Murder scolded. "We'd better go change. Come on."

Murder walked toward the last compartment, which was empty. Hope and Wrath followed her, but Envy lingered for just a moment to smirk at the group before leaving too.

"He's as bad as Malfoy," Luna said.

"What do you think he's doing here, though?" Harry asked. "He looks like he might be a seventh year, but… the twins look a little bit too young to go to school, don't they? They don't even look old enough to be first years."

"Bet Envy gets Slytherin," Ron said, "But did you see Murder? I mean, does she look good for having three kids or what?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, "Did those four seem not quite… _human_, to you?"

"You know, I'd like to have one year of school where we don't discover some evil plot to bring back You-Know-Who or something," Ron sighed.

"Sorry, Ron," Ginny giggled. "Never going to happen."

"I know I've seen that mark before, the one on Envy's leg," Hermione sighed, "If only I could remember where. Probably in a book."

"Oh, _that _narrows it down," Ron rolled his eyes, "How many books do you read a day, Hermione, really? Can you even count that high?"

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione huffed, "This could be serious! You're just protecting her because you think that she's pretty!"

"Did you _see_ her, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Did you see that she has _children_, Ron?" Hermione countered. "Probably a husband, too. And she's too old for you, anyway."

"Oh, yeah, like Lupin's too old for Tonks?" Ron returned.

"Tonks is a full-grown woman. You're still just a teenager," Hermione said defensively.

"Erm… nice weather, huh?" Harry said loudly, disrupting their fight. As usual, it was raining hard, signaling that they were nearing Hogwarts.

"We aren't even there yet and you two are already fighting," Ginny sighed.

Luna didn't say anything; she was deep into the most recent copy of _The Quibbler_. However, she did look up when the door to the compartment opened again.

Murder stepped through first, followed by her sons. One of the twins seemed a bit uncomfortable, and he kept staring at the black robe as though it was going to bite him- it was probably the one that had been wearing all white earlier.

Murder turned back to look at him, squatting down so she was eye-level with him.

"I know you don't like black, Hope, but it's standard," she said, "Now, quit fidgeting with your robe."

The twin, Hope, smiled appreciatively at her and grabbed her hand. The other one, Wrath, grabbed her other hand.

"I'm nervous," Wrath said, "What if they don't like us?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Murder asked.

"Because we're-" he saw Harry and the others, and quickly closed his mouth.

"It'll be fine," Envy said reassuringly, "Just wait and see."

"Okay!" Wrath replied cheerfully.

"I'd better get to the teacher's compartment," Murder said, "Will you three be okay on your own?"

"I'll watch them," Envy nodded.

"Alright, then," Murder smiled, leaving the car. Envy, Wrath, and Hope sat down in a row of seats, across from Harry and co. Envy sat near the window, looking outside, while Hope and Wrath amused themselves by playing rock-paper-scissors, at which Hope won every time because Wrath insisted on only using rock.

"So," Envy said suddenly, "You guys must be pretty famous around school, right?"

"You bet!" Luna replied.

"And you're always going around after hours, finding things that no one else can, right?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded.

"Then you'll know all of the secret passageways… you know, little hidden rooms and what not?"

"What are you getting at?" Harry asked before anyone could answer.

"Oh… nothing," Envy replied with a smirk. "Or maybe something. I forget."

"I swear, he's a loony one," Ron whispered to the others.

"Not 'loony', as you so intelligently put it," Envy snapped, "'Mischievous' is more like it… or 'trouble-making'… but not 'loony'."

"Except for when you have mood swings," Wrath said.

"Except for when I have mood swings," Envy nodded, "Then you never really can tell."

Hope quickly tapped on his brothers' shoulders to get their attention and pointed out of the window excitedly.

"Is that it?" Wrath asked, gaping at the gigantic castle atop the cliff.

"Yup," Luna nodded, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

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	2. The Sorting

Summary: AU It's the seventh year at Hogwarts, and things just aren't the same without Dumbledore. McGonagall has taken over as Headmistress with Flitwick as Deputy Headmaster. As usual, a new DADA teacher is needed, and there's only one person up for the job. But Harry is suspicious of this new teacher being a spy almost instantly, though no one else seems concerned. Could she be a Death Eater, or something else entirely, and is she a friend or foe?

Pairings: Ron x Hermione (finally) and hints at Harry x Ginny

I'm going to try and speed through this chapter, with Diagon Alley and whatnot, as things don't get really good 'til they get to Hogwarts.

Please leave a nice review. Now Read!

_Chapter Two: The Sorting_

"So that's Hogwarts," Envy said as he looked at the castle. "Pretty big. Bet it would be hard to attack from the outside, probably enchanted and the whole bit."

"Of course!" Hermione said. She looked as though she was about to go into a long explanation of what she'd read about the school in _Hogwarts: A History _when Hope screamed suddenly.

"What is it?" Envy asked immediately, his tone and expression far too worried for anyone's comfort.

But Hope didn't say anything. He just kept pointing out of the window, shaking uncontrollably while Wrath did his best to calm him.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Luna all got up to look out of the window, as did Envy.

"I don't see anything," Ginny said finally, after a few minutes.

"That just makes things worse," Envy sighed.

"Why?" Harry inquired.

"I'm not telling you!" Envy snapped. "And as for you-" he pointed at Ron, "-quit staring at our mom like that, you got it?"

Ron yelped and dashed behind Harry. Envy was truly terrifying when he was angry.

"Brother, did you forget to take your medicine again?" Wrath asked.

"Huh? No," Envy shook his head, "It just pisses me off when some idiot stares at our mom that way. The fact that she's pretty doesn't give anyone the right to drool over her!"

"Ouch," Luna said simply.

"I'd hate to be his dad!" Ginny giggled quietly.

Apparently, not quietly enough. Envy turned to her quickly with more rage than he'd shown Ron.

"_What… did… you… say?_" he hissed.

"Brother!" Wrath said, grabbing his arm quickly, "Don't! She doesn't know!"

"_And_?" Envy roared, turning to him, "Just because she doesn't know, she can go off and say remarks like that and get away with it? _I don't think so_!" He whirled back to Ginny again, "For your information, we don't have a father! We don't need or want one, either! Mom did a great job of raising us by herself, thank you very much! Some man that she had to wait on hand and foot would only have held her back, understand? So don't even so much as think the words 'father', 'dad', or 'male parent' around us!"

"Hey, back off!" Harry said, getting between Ginny and Envy.

"Or what, Scar Boy?" Envy raged, "Going to use some magic spell to shut me up? Try it!"

"Stop it!" Wrath shouted, "Just stop it, Envy!"

"Why?" Envy asked, "Why should I?"

"Because…" Wrath said, looking on the verge of tears, "Because we never get chances to start over like this, and if you go around making enemies all the time, then there aren't going to be any people left to be your friends! And we all need friends, a lot!"

"You're right," Envy sighed, "Sorry. It's just… well, I lied. We did have a father, but… he could hardly be called a father, he just up and left us one day without saying anything, or explaining why in a letter... And thinking about him, or having someone mention him, it just makes me that angry… I'm sorry."

"It's okay!" Luna said, "We'll just be careful around those words so you don't get mad!"

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione didn't look so forgiving, but after a few harsh stares from Luna they were muttering apologies and welcomes as well.

"See?" Wrath smiled, "We just need friends, that's all! Right Hope?"

Hope still looked a bit shaken up by whatever he'd screamed about, but he nodded.

"We're here," Hermione said as the train stopped.

The group moved to the front of the train and stepped out of the door. Hagrid's familiar 'firs' years this way' could be heard over the drumming of the rain. Peeves was nowhere to be seen, perhaps refueling his supply of water balloons to launch at people or planning some other prank.

There seemed to be a bit of security that year, as some students were being stopped at the door, a lot of them Slytherins. Envy, Wrath, and Hope were just in front of Harry and co. when the door security stopped them.

"You are the three transfer students, right?" the guard asked.

"Yes," Envy nodded.

"Can I see some verification of that?"

Sighing, Envy lifted his cloak to show the tattoo on his left thigh, and the twins kicked off their shoes so the tattoos on the bottoms of their feet could be seen.

Hermione tensed beside Ron and Harry, trying to get a good look at the markings. If Wrath and Hope had them too, then they had to mean something. The fact that she couldn't remember where she'd seen it before frustrated and annoyed her to no end.

"Alright, proceed," the guard said, and the three brothers stepped into the castle. The guard greeted Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, and they entered without having to be verified.

Everyone took their seats at their house tables, and the Slytherin table was frighteningly empty.

The Gryffindors waved goodbye to Luna as she joined her fellow Ravenclaws. There were very few first years being sorted, but Harry quickly noticed that the twins and Envy were among them. Naturally, transfer students would have to be sorted.

"Before we begin the Sorting," McGonagall said, "I would like to welcome back all those students who have chosen to stay at Hogwarts to continue, complete, and begin their education. I would also like to introduce Professor Murder, who will be teaching advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. Her three sons will also be attending Hogwarts this year; one is a seventh year, and the other two are both second years. Please do your best to make them feel welcome.

"Now, without further ado, let us begin the Sorting!"

The Sorting Hat sprang to life on its cue and began to sing its latest song. No one was really paying attention, though- or at least, the boys weren't. They were all staring at Murder, and Ron and Harry glanced over at Envy, who was clearly getting angry again. Hope and Wrath quickly grabbed his arms, and Murder sent him a calming, or perhaps threatening, look.

The Hat's song quickly ended and McGonagall pulled out her noticeably shorter scroll, and began calling out names.

"Bui, Glory!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Conway, Ashleigh!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Envy!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Fox, Samantha!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Garcia, Nadia!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Haran, Kevin Valentino!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Hope!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Le, Victor!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Pham, Kevin!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Wrath!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Zamudio, Cecilia!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

And so ended the Sorting. The three brothers uneasily split up and went to their other tables. Hope looked absolutely mortified to be apart from his brothers- he'd spent his whole life with them beside him every day, almost all day. Now he'd be apart from them for very long periods of time.

Murder looked a bit worried about her kids, as well. They did not do well apart- Hope helped tame Wrath's natural temper, and Wrath always managed to pacify Envy's rage. And Envy and Wrath made Hope braver. She resisted the urge to sigh with nervousness- this was going to be one of Hogwarts' more interesting years.

The feast began without any more after words, and Hermione looked with some level of curiosity and fret at Wrath, who was sitting beside her. He seemed to be devastated, as well, being apart from his twin. He barely picked at the sandwich in front of him, and sighed sadly.

"It'll be okay," Hermione said finally to him, causing him to look up. "You'll still see them at classes, and during lunch and breakfast. Now, come on, eat up."

Wrath smiled and took a decent sized bite of his sandwich, devouring it in seconds, then a chicken wing, a drumstick, salad, two rolls, another sandwich, some corned beef, and everything past that point was shoveled down too quickly to be identified.

"Don't make yourself sick!" Ginny laughed nervously as Wrath swiped some mashed potatoes, which were dangerously close to her hand.

Everyone at the table was gaping at the little wizard as he ate everything around him, even after Nearly Headless Nick flew through the chicken, at which point everyone usually lost their taste for it.

At the Slytherin table, Envy was doing no better in fitting in with his house mates. He seemed to be the oldest of the lot, and the rest were sniveling cowards as far as he was concerned, except for that girl Samantha Fox, who was _far_ too bubbly.

He sighed as he chewed absently at a bit of chicken, wishing that one of his brothers had been sorted into Slytherin, or that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff with them. He would tear that stupid hat to ribbons for separating them later, but for the time being he was stuck listening to that idiot blabbermouth rant on about everything she liked, didn't like, wasn't sure she liked but didn't necessarily dislike, and her opinion on basically everything there was to be opinionated about along with several offhand statements and observations, all of which she said very quickly and in a very shrill voice that put Envy into a state of almost physical pain.

Hope was faring no better with the curious Hufflepuffs. They kept asking him questions, all of which he would not answer. He didn't say a word and he didn't eat, he just looked sad and held his head low, too shy to do anything under the other students' watchful eyes.

Murder tried her best to keep up with the other teachers' conversations, but she couldn't follow anything they were saying. They were using so many phrases and words that she wasn't used to hearing, talking about lesson plans that she couldn't understand to save her life and spells that she was sure she couldn't pronounce. Finally, Flitwick asked, "So, Professor Murder, what will you be teaching in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Oh, well, I-" she stammered, nervous. She wanted to make a good impression, but was worried that her lesson plan was a bit revolutionary in comparison to theirs. But she replied, "I'm taking a more… physical approach to Defense Against the Dark Arts, should the students be caught off guard or without their wands. You know, pointing out how to defeat, slay, and otherwise remove and nullify threats without magic. I just hope that the older students will adjust quickly."

"How very interesting," Professor Binns droned, "Very original."

"I 'gree wit' Binns," Hagrid said, his face very red as he slurred his words, "What if ye hic can't use magic? Best te hic know how to hic take down somethin' widdout hic widdout magic!"

"I would assume that's why you were hired?" Sprout asked.

"Oh, yes," Murder nodded, "Minerva said that she wanted someone who could teach students how to defend themselves in a different way than simply magic spells… and I cough was the only cough applicant for the job cough, cough, cough."

"Well, good for you!" Flitwick smiled, and Murder seemed to have been successful in hiding the other reason for her being a teacher by coughing as she'd said it.

"Oh, and Professor Sprout, could you please keep an eye on Hope for me?" Murder asked, "I know that you're the head of Hufflepuff, and I'm just worried about him. I think Wrath will be okay on his own, and I'm the new head of Slytherin, so I can watch Envy, but Hope is… sheepish, to say the least. And I'm sure it won't be hard to find an excuse for watching after him, he's quite skilled with plants."

"Of course I'll take care of your son," Sprout replied, "As I do all the new students at Hogwarts. Rest easy."

"Thank you," Murder smiled.

After dessert was served, everyone was very full, especially Wrath, who had fallen asleep and looked cuter than ever with just a little bit of food at the corner of his mouth. Hope was still shaking terribly, and Envy was still enduring Sam's ranting.

Finally, McGonagall silence everyone with a wave of her hand.

"This year is undoubtedly going to be one of the hardest that Hogwarts has ever faced," she said, "But we must remember Dumbledore's wishes and try to put an end to house rivalry, and learn to get along with one another-"

"Still not being chummy with the Slytherins," Ron whispered. Hermione scowled at him but said nothing.

"-and make this the best year that Hogwarts has seen yet!" McGonagall finished. "Also, Professor Hagrid and Groundskeeper Filch would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden, and any student seen wandering in it without a teacher, day or night, will be expelled and sent home immediately."

"Does it seem like the forest gets more and more forbidden every year?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "We probably don't help much, do we?"

"Reckon not," Ron replied.

"Come on, Ron!" Hermione said as everyone stood up, "We've got to lead everyone back to Gryffindor Tower and give them the password."

"Oh, right… what's the password?" Ron asked.

"It's _Ouroborous_," Hermione sighed.

At this, Wrath's eyes shot open and he looked around frightfully.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Oh… nothing," Wrath blushed, standing up. He looked down at his feet to hide his embarrassment.

"The whole lot of them is loony," Ron whispered to Harry, who didn't know whether to laugh or just feel bad. It wasn't easy, coming to Hogwarts for the first time from somewhere far away. But transferring in had to be ten times harder.

Well, at least they had their mother with them.

"Come on!" Hermione called, "Everyone this way!"

And so the long march to the Gryffindor common room began. The convoy soon reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who said immediately, "Password?"

"Ouroborous," Hermione said.

The Fat Lady swung open without another word, and the Gryffindors stepped through, eager to go to bed.

Harry and Ron took their usual bed, as did all of the regular Gryffindors. Wrath took over Neville's abandoned bed, and he was asleep the second he touched the mattress, without even changing into his pajamas.

"Must be tired," Dean said, "Wish I could fall asleep like that. Well, he's only a little kid. Probably missed his naptime on the train."

And so everyone settled into bed and were soon asleep.

Around midnight, Harry was awoken by a stabbing pain in his forehead- his scar acting up again. His heart immediately started pounding. What if Voldemort was nearby, what if the castle was about to be attacked again?

He became aware of someone screaming then, not him, though.

"Aaaaaaggghhh! No, NO! Let me go, get away, NOOOO!"

"Wrath!" Harry yelled, "Wake up, wake up, it's just a nightmare!"

The small boy was still screaming when everyone else woke up, too, and quickly came over to see what was going on.

"Everything's okay, you're just dreaming!" Harry tried to explain, but to no avail. Wrath was still mostly asleep, even though he was awake.

"What's going on?" Hermione yelled as she opened the door to the boys' room.

"Hey!" Dean protested.

"Hermione, get out!" Ron shouted, leaping behind a curtain, "You'll get in trouble! And I'm in my underwear, for God's sake!"

"Oh, rubbish!" Hermione rolled her eyes, "Now then, what's going on?"

"He's having a nightmare- a really bad one," Harry said, "But he won't wake up- not entirely, at least."

"Oh, no!" Hermione cried, "I tried to warn him about eating too much treacle tart… here, let me try. Wrath, wake up! Wake up!"

"I've only done that about a dozen times!" Harry snapped. "He just won't wake up. It's almost like he's under a spell, or something."

"Get away, get away, GET AWAY!" Wrath yelled. He was now thrashing about, and he brought his hands together with a loud clap, and slammed them down on the bed.

Everyone sprang back as there was a flash of blue light and a sizzle of energy. The bed soon rose up, and Wrath with it. Only it wasn't really the bed that was rising, just the sheets where Wrath had touched them.

To everyone's horror, when the light faded, Wrath was towering above them; his entire body from the waist down had become one with the sheets.

Wrath was now at least three-fourths awake and was screaming his head off.

"What's goin' on?" Hagrid said as he entered the room. "Good Lord!" he exclaimed when he saw Wrath, "Who did that?"

"He did," Hermione said, "I don't know how, but he fused himself with the bed!"

"Well, we've got to get him down!" Hagrid thundered, "Stand back now, this is going to be tricky…"

"Hold it!" Envy called as he entered.

"How did you get in here?" Ron demanded.

"I may have 'overheard' the password, or someone may have told me," Envy answered in riddle, "Either way, who cares? This isn't the first time this has happened- I know how to handle it. Just stand aside if you would, Professor Hagrid… thank you."

He stepped over to Wrath, who was still quite frightened and crying.

"Don't cry!" Envy snapped, and at once Wrath stopped. More gently, Envy grabbed his little brother's hand and said, "Can you remember your true form?"

Wrath nodded.

"Good," Envy said, "Now, just stay focused on that image… slowly now, slowly…"

The light appeared once again as the sheets returned to normal, and Wrath right along with them, still holding Envy's hand.

Wrath quickly wrapped his arms around Envy when he touched the ground, burying his face in his big brother's stomach.

"Please forgive my intrusion, and Wrath's behavior," Envy said politely, "Sometimes he gets bad nightmares and does things without realizing it."

"O' course," Hagrid nodded, "Jus' don' make a habit of showin' up in other houses' common rooms and what not."


End file.
